A few of my favourite things: the diplodocus
Now here’s another of my favourite things. Nothing cultural or recondite about this one; it’s most kids’ favourite in London, and it was mine. It’s the hulking great diplodocus skeleton in the Natural History Museum [map].
Unlike some of my favourites, which you have to look around for, you really can’t miss this one – he’s in the entrance hall of the museum. It’s partly the setting that makes it so special – this huge dinosaur, in the cavernous,...
March 16th, 2010 | Andrea Kirkby | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: best of the week, featuredarticle, london museums, natural history museum, nature
A Passion for Chocolate
After I posted up my Valentine’s Day patisserie and chocolate ideas, Rococo Chocolates very kindly invited me to try one of the chocolate making classes that I’d featured. I arrived with some trepidation – I made truffles last Christmas for my partner’s family, and I know though they were quite edible, they wouldn’t pass muster in professional chocolate making circles!
One of the students at Rococo's choc school piping the ganache to make truffles
My collywobbles...
February 14th, 2010 | Andrea Kirkby | Read More | Comments: 5Filed under: best of the week, chocolate, classes, cookery classes, cookery lessons, food, top-feature, valentine's day
English traditions: Marmalade
I’ve just spotted Seville oranges in a greengrocer’s. I’ve had a little rest from jam making now that we’ve dealt with the last of the apple and pear harvest – but now it’s time to start making marmalade. A jam maker’s work is never done!
I’ve had jams and jellies all over the world, from Spanish membrillo (quince jelly) to coconut jam and even fig jam. But marmalade, as far as I can find out, is a distinctively British tradition – other countries...
February 2nd, 2010 | Andrea Kirkby | Read More | Comments: 1Filed under: best of the week, english breakfast, english foods, jam, marmalade
Opera Up Close
Opera can overwhelm you completely. The drama, the music, the emotions – see a great performance and you can come out in tears. But only too often, you’re far up in the gods, half a mile away from the stage and with only a partial view of the stage, and believe me, it’s really difficult to feel anything much in that situation other than a numb backside.
What you won't see at Opera Up Close's Boheme...
OperaUpClose gets rid of that distance. As the name suggests, it’s...
December 28th, 2009 | Andrea Kirkby | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: best of the week, opera
Boxing Day in London
As far as I’m concerned there are two ways to do Boxing Day in London. Both are traditional. One is to do the Sales. The other is to head off to the races. Both are great fun!
Some shops, like John Lewis, will start their sales later. But the best shop of all (yes, I’m biased) is Harvey Nichols[map], and it starts its sale Boxing Day. From there you can run down the road, just a few yards, to the Harrods sale.
Selfridges in Oxford Street [map] also begins its sale Boxing Day, and my...
December 25th, 2009 | Andrea Kirkby | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: best of the week, boxing day, featuredarticle, horse racing, kempton, sales, Shopping
It’s great up north!
I’m a southerner. The north, for me, begins at Peterborough – that’s about an hour by train from London.
But because I’m a keen hiker, I do know the north of England quite well. There are superb long distance walks; the Pennine Way, the Coast to Coast, the Three Peaks of Yorkshire.
Roseberry Topping - said to have been sacred to the Norse god Odin, and here you see it in Viking style
The midlands and the north were the industrial heartland of England; Sheffield, for instance,...
December 19th, 2009 | Andrea Kirkby | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: best of the week, hiking, northern england, york
Best of the Week in South Florida: December 16-19
From a BFF Spa night to a hip, beer dinner at Urbanite Bistro, we have some picks for you to add some jazz to what might otherwise be a routine week.
Wednesday, December 16
Relax, gather up your friends and get ready for a night of pampering. The Willow Stream Spa located at The Fairmont Turnberry Isle Resort & Club in Aventura will host a BFF Spa night with Tracy Wilson Mourning on Wed., December 16 from 7 to 9 pm to raise money for Honey Shine Mentoring Program. Enjoy a night of mini-spa...
December 16th, 2009 | klynch | Read More | Comments: 0Filed under: beer dinner, best of the week, Northwood Village, real housewives, urbanite bistro
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